"I grew up on an intensely farmed farm in the United Kingdom. I grew up breathing herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Now that I have little kids I don't want them being exposed to what I grew up with. ..." said Robert Nichols, right, who talks with Sean Little at the River City Food Co-Op.

Photographs by MOLLY BARTELS / COURIER & PRESS
"I buy organic because pesticides cause cancer and because organic is better for the environment," said Jennifer Weigand, who buys organic carrots at the River City Food Co-Op in Downtown Evansville on Wednesday. Weigand shops at the Co-Op, which provides a variety of organic and locally grown foods, several times a month. She bought carrots, mushrooms, kale and celery for just over $10.

EVANSVILLE - Brett Siler said he didn't take seriously a recent study that said organic foods aren't more nutritious than those grown by conventional methods.

"I just kind of blew it off when I heard it," said Siler, 29, a staff member of Evansville's River City Food Co-Op. "It was a misconception, people shouldn't give out information when they don't know what they're talking about."

Organic food has, at least partially, come into the food service market on the platform of healthy eating, but those health benefits were called into question in a Stanford University study released this month. The study concluded organic food has little to no nutritional advantage over conventional foods, citing only a few exceptions in regard to pesticides and antibiotics.

Local organic food markets report, though, they have not experienced any drop in sales since the study's release.

River City Food Co-Op, located at 116 Washington Ave., opened in 2005 and is a member-owned-and-operated business. It has about 350 members, and serves approximately 100 regular customers a week. Siler said the business' clientele base is mostly made up of regulars, with some exceptions.

"Every week we have someone new stumble in and discover the place," Siler said. "We're kind of tucked away, so a lot of people don't even know we're here."

Elbert's Natural Food Market, 5614 E. Virginia St., in Evansville first opened in 2006 and has grown to a regular customer base of about 150 a week. Elbert's owner Catherine Elbert-Burkemper said she hadn't heard about the recent study and her business has seen no impact.

"Everything seems normal here," Elbert-Burkemper said. "No one has really been talking about it or asking about it."

In an apple-to-apple comparison, Elbert-Burkemper said she could see where the nutritional numbers would be similar, but she would have to disagree with the study when it comes to things such as artificial food colorings and preservatives.

"With all those words on the ingredient list you can't understand, your body just doesn't know what to do with them," Elbert-Burkemper said. "So it's hard for me to completely agree with the research."

Talking to customers and hearing their stories of health improvements since going organic has provided Elbert-Burkemper with much of her confidence in the health benefits of organic food. She said the Stanford study would have made a more convincing and thorough argument if it had a human element.

"It's a continuing debate," Elbert-Burkemper said. "People ask if it's worth the extra cost and if the health benefits are worth it. I think we will continue to see studies and articles discussing whether or not it is better."

The reasons some of the regular customers shop at the Co-Op, Siler said, are to support the local farming community and eat healthier. He said the pesticides in most conventional foods are like poison.

"We have a lot of new parents shop for their kids here," Siler said. "And sick people, like people with cancer, have had their doctors recommend they eat organic food."

Siler said that part of the organic appeal of their food is not just physical health, but also mental and emotional health. He said many feel better about themselves after eating organic food.

"I think people should do their own personal tests and decide for themselves," Siler said. "Try organic food yourself and if you feel better after eating it, then come back."